Meet Rolanda Evelyn. Born in Brooklyn, now living in San Francisco, she is a marketer at YouTube by day and a blogger at night. “Growing up, I would watch my mother get dressed, put makeup and jewelry on as she prepared for work and was in awe of the attention she put into every detail. From there I was hooked!” Rolanda is obsessed with Spanish, starred as an extra in the movie Beware the Gonzo, starring Jesse McCartney (“yes, I hugged him”) and did a “life-changing boomerang” with Elaine Welteroth, at the Teen Vogue Summit. Over to her for more on fashion, confidence and career.
Rolanda wears a Le Tote sweater with beaded tassel earrings. Photograph by Stan Schor
What do you love most about the service?
I love the collection of clothes and brands. I also LOVE that Le Tote gives you 48 hours to review each box, a fool-proof way to ensure that you like everything that comes your way!
What are some things that make you feel confident, empowered and absolutely amazing?
When I look and feel my best I feel the most confident. Sometimes, it really is the little things that make the biggest difference. When I was back East in New York, I always wore heels and did my nails. And that seemingly fell to the wayside when I moved to SF. On a trip back from New York, I landed in SF with heels and manicured nails and it suddenly all clicked. 2018 will be a year of manicured nails and ankle booties! The same goes for work! On days when I have presentations or an important meeting, I’ll wear my favorite pair of heeled booties. There’s something about the extra inches that makes a world of difference for me.
“My style really does change day to day depending on my mood. Some days I’m preppy with a blazer collared shirt and statement necklace. Some days it’s an all black look with joggers and cool white sneakers. Other days, a patterned or neon skirt takes center stage. It really just depends.”
Finally, as a young professional, what is your advice for women like you navigating through their workplace?
I’ve been in the workplace for a little over a year and still figuring this out. Here are some of the things that have worked well for me thus far:
- Speak Up. As the youngest person in many of the meetings I attend, it often feels intimidating to raise a point or question. It’s easy to think that if someone else doesn’t see an issue, then there must not be one. But in almost all cases, after speaking up, I feel so happy that I did because it either leads to actionable change or confirms what someone else was thinking. Which leads me to…
- Know your worth. I am who I am because of the experiences I’ve had. I often remind myself that I wasn’t hired in spite of my experiences rather because of them. So whenever there are initiatives or projects that I think are important to support or an issue that’s important to raise from my perspective as a black female professional, I make sure to use my voice to bring it to the attention of my team. That’s the whole point of having a diverse workforce, isn’t it?
- Do you. I think one of the biggest differences between college and corporate work is that in college your success isn’t really dependent on or related to anyone else’s. If you studied hard, you’d get an A on the exam. In corporate America, all of sudden there’s a finite number of A’s to give out, someone else may be in line before you to get that A, and whole bunch of other stipulations. It’s a whole system that I think can take lots of energy away by focusing on just that. So instead, just focus on you. Do the best work that you can do and drive the best results that you can drive that way, because no one can take away the impact you’ve driven!
“I never leave the house without a hand of rings — I’m currently loving two that I picked up from my trip to Greece, a good lip — when in doubt I opt for a bold red from ColourPop, and a spritz of my favorite fragrance — I’m currently loving Good Girl by Carolina Herrera.” Photograph by Kim Grant